Lunau, Klaus (1996) Signalling functions of floral colour patterns for insect flower visitors. ZOOLOGISCHER ANZEIGER, 235 (1-2). pp. 11-30. ISSN 0044-5231
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
The diversity of floral colour patterns in angiosperms is known to be an adaptation aimed at the pollinators' capacity for learning and discriminating colours. The species-specific labelling of colour signals improves pollen transfer between the flowers of a species caused by the flower constant foraging behaviour of pollinators. The initial flower detection of inexperienced flower visitors, however, requires non-species-specific, standardized cues among potential food plants fitting to the innate preferences of flower visitors. It was shown that the colour patterns of many melittophilous angiosperm blossoms closely match the colour signals releasing innate responses of bumble bees and hoverflies which exhibit very different kinds of innate colour preferences. In this comparative study, physiological, morphological, phylogenetical and functional aspects of the construction of visual signalling units in melittophilous plants are investigated. The various levels of the representation of colour patterns are described, such as the spectral reflection of flower colours, the relative quantum absorption of the photoreceptors of a flower visitor, and the representation of floral colour patterns in the colour triangle as well as in a perceptual colour space. With respect to the flower parts which display the optical releasers of innate colour preferences there is a great morphological diversity. The signalling function of the androeceum as the primary food signal highlights the evolution of innate colour preferences in flower visitors. The androeceum, floral guides or central colours of blossoms offer standardized optical releasers corresponding to innate colour preferences of pollen-feeding insects. Plant species with polymorphic flowers are used as a study case in order to demonstrate the standardization of colour signals at the species level. In summary, floral colour patterns serve multiple functions: They offer species-specific as well as standardized signals and they may address themselves at the same time to flower visitors with fundamentally different visual systems and innate colour preferences.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | REPRODUCTIVE-BIOLOGY; HONEY-BEES; VISION; ULTRAVIOLET; POLLINATION; BEHAVIOR; BUMBLEBEES; EVOLUTION; DISCRIMINATION; ORCHIDACEAE; colour preference; flower visitor; innate flower detection; releaser; wavelength-specific behaviour; colour vision; colour pattern |
| Subjects: | 500 Science > 590 Zoological sciences |
| Divisions: | Biology, Preclinical Medicine > Institut für Zoologie |
| Depositing User: | Dr. Gernot Deinzer |
| Date Deposited: | 25 May 2023 12:19 |
| Last Modified: | 25 May 2023 12:19 |
| URI: | https://pred.uni-regensburg.de/id/eprint/51335 |
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